Movie Madness
My dad used to tell us about going to the movies when he was a kid. It was an all Saturday morning event that cost only 25¢ for pre-show cartoons, Hollywood newsreel, the movie, a soda, a hot dog and popcorn. Twenty-five years later, during my childhood, movies cost $1.50 and that included your previews and movie. Movie theaters had already learned that they could make their money on the snacks by charging twice what you would pay at a grocery store. A few years later when I was dating and actually paying for myself and a date, movies cost $3.00. That is also about the time that the Dollar Movie theaters started to pop up for the frugal movie goer who didn't mind waiting 3-4 months to see that blockbuster movie.
It is almost impossible to imagine a 25¢ movie when we were paying $5.00 for matinee movies just a few years ago. That is when we quit going to the movies. When a family of four can purchase a DVD for $15-20 at Walmart, then why would we spend $20 for tickets and another $20 for a popcorn and two drinks to share? I admit that we still went to the movies for the really big movies (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia), but the rest just weren't worth the cost to us.
And now they have decided to start putting all of the new movies in 3D so that not only are you paying $8-10 for a matinee movie making the movie experience almost $40 for a family of four, but you also must purchase a $3-6 pair of 3D glasses which now brings the cost for just the movie up to $50-60. Add another $20-30 for snacks and you are pushing nearly $100 for a few hours entertainment. How can any family afford this?
I guess I got started on this little rant because we have a family tradition around Thanksgiving that may not happen this year due mainly to the rising cost of movie tickets. Typically we eat at Cracker Barrel for lunch, because I do not want my wife to spend all day cooking for our family of four, and then go out to see a movie. This is generally the only time during the year that we go to the movies. Now we may have to decide between eating out or going to the movies. It would be much cheaper to just rent a movie from Redbox...even their Bluray movies only cost $1.50.
It is almost impossible to imagine a 25¢ movie when we were paying $5.00 for matinee movies just a few years ago. That is when we quit going to the movies. When a family of four can purchase a DVD for $15-20 at Walmart, then why would we spend $20 for tickets and another $20 for a popcorn and two drinks to share? I admit that we still went to the movies for the really big movies (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia), but the rest just weren't worth the cost to us.
And now they have decided to start putting all of the new movies in 3D so that not only are you paying $8-10 for a matinee movie making the movie experience almost $40 for a family of four, but you also must purchase a $3-6 pair of 3D glasses which now brings the cost for just the movie up to $50-60. Add another $20-30 for snacks and you are pushing nearly $100 for a few hours entertainment. How can any family afford this?
I guess I got started on this little rant because we have a family tradition around Thanksgiving that may not happen this year due mainly to the rising cost of movie tickets. Typically we eat at Cracker Barrel for lunch, because I do not want my wife to spend all day cooking for our family of four, and then go out to see a movie. This is generally the only time during the year that we go to the movies. Now we may have to decide between eating out or going to the movies. It would be much cheaper to just rent a movie from Redbox...even their Bluray movies only cost $1.50.
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(also idk why my username is hi-i-like-cheese-and-pie)
(if you haven't figured it out yet I'm Zach)
(also idk why my username is hi-i-like-cheese-and-pie)
(if you haven't figured it out yet I'm Zach)